Problem players come in a variety of types, but it all boils down to a player that is somehow disrupting the game or hindering the enjoyment of others at the table. A while back, I wrote about players that deliberately go out of their way to mess with the game and other players, but this time I’m going to talk about a player that wants to be involved in the game perhaps a little too much. They probably don’t mean any harm, but their actions are still going to hamper the fun of everyone else at the table.
Which problem this time? The Teleporting Player.
Regardless of what they just said their character was doing, the Teleporting Player will suddenly appear where action is happening for another character. The moment another player looks like they’re about to do something interesting, the Teleporting Player is right there jumping in on the action. It’s exhausting for the GM to try and keep them reined in and incredibly frustrating for the other players as their figurative toes keep getting stepped on. The desire to be where the action is happening is understandable. Everyone at the table wants to be involved in the game and part of the exciting events that are unfolding, it’s just that the teleporting player has no understanding of staying within the narrative of the game or for allowing the other players to have their moments in the spotlight.
Everyone gets ahead of themselves once in a while and reacts to events that their character is not directly involved in. Unless the GM is going to physically separate the players every time they split the party (which is pretty ridiculous and something I don’t recommend unless being done sparingly for special emphasis), a little mixing of involvement is going to happen as a natural course of events. The occasional infraction is understandable, quite forgivable and easily addressed. Most players will apologize and back off to let the other player have their moment. Unfortunately the chronic offender is teleporting to the action like an inebriated Nightcrawler bamfing around an X-Men comic.
Why would someone behave like this? In my experience, the reasons can be varied. It’s quite common among younger players who are still learning the social conventions of RPGs. Whenever I’m running for someone under the age of 16, I go into the game prepared to either coax them into the action of the game or remind them to wait their turn. Overly enthusiastic kids can be a touch annoying at the table, but most of them can learn better behavior with time and some coaching. It’s harder when the chronic offender is an adult that should know better. For some, the behavior comes from a social awkwardness or lack of understanding. Others act out of some level of selfishness to get all of the glory and attention. Ultimately, they’re afraid of missing out and barge their way into scenes they shouldn’t be in.
So what do we do about this?
How the GM Can Handle It:
As a GM, it is important to keep the spotlight moving around the table. You’ve got a lot to manage, from NPCs to encounters to pacing, but it’s also your job to make sure each player gets a chance to be in the spotlight. This means consciously taking time to focus on the quieter, more introverted players at the table, but also knowing when to make the dominant players take a back seat for a moment or two.
Doing this doesn’t necessarily come naturally to every GM, so it’s okay to try and come up with some tools to manage it better. One thing I suggest is keeping a list of the PCs beside you and make a little checkmark next to each one when they have a cool moment. This way you have a visual representation of who needs the spotlight. It might be a little more record keeping to keep up with, but with a little bit of focus, it will become easier to handle.
For those times when you realize you do have a player infringing on the spotlight of other players, definitely put that player on pause. If this means stopping the game for a moment and letting them know you’ll get back to them in a moment, do it. Try not to let them continue pushing their way to the front of the line. Your lack of intervention can be perceived as permission to continue the behavior, especially if they’re getting rewarded with your attention for their character’s actions. If it’s bothering you as a GM, you can be sure it’s bothering your other players, even if they’re not voicing it.
How Other Players Can Handle It:
The GM has a lot to manage and keep track of, so it’s not uncommon to see a Teleporting Player getting away with bad behavior without the GM fully realizing it’s happening, or that it’s annoying as it actually is. It is okay to speak up. Begin with politely pointing out the player’s character was somewhere else and that they’re not in the current scene. Like I said above, everyone gets caught up in the action and they may not realize they’re stepping on toes. If the behavior continues, you are within rights to get more firm about it. While it is not your job to manage the other players at the table, you can help out by drawing quieter players into the game and making sure everyone gets to partake of the cool stuff. This may mean asking a player stepping on toes to chill for a moment or two.
You should also talk to the GM about the situation and let them know the behavior is becoming problematic. Because of everything they’re managing, they may not be as aware of the social dynamics at the table as the other players are. Letting them know may be all that’s needed to help them curtail the player’s tendency to interrupt someone else’s scene.
“YOU ARE NOT THERE. Give someone else a chance to do something interesting.”
I was probably not as gentle or as polite as I could have been, but he did sit back down and let the scene continue. After the game, the GM came up to me and thanked me for putting a stop to the player’s behavior. He had his hands full with the rest of the game and was grateful for the assist.
Have you ever had to deal with a Teleporting Player in your game, either as a player or as a GM? How did you handle it? I’d love to hear your advice on handling this particular brand of problem player.
Great post! It’s an issue that I know I will have to deal with in an upcoming campaign!
My regular group is solid enough that we don’t really deal with this except for one off infractions, but I run into it a fair bit more at cons.
Good luck with your upcoming campaign! 🙂
I’ve never had to deal with it as a GM but I have been guilty of it as a player. It was only my first or second RP session and I was playing with some experienced friends. I was trying to do everything and the GM called for a short restroom break to bring it to my attention. I really hadn’t even realized I was doing it. I think subconsciously I felt like I needed to show everyone else that I could get into the game, and I really had no concept of “everyone gets time in the spotlight”.
Your GM handled it well and it’s probably made you a better player. The chronic problems probably happen when a GM doesn’t step in and put a stop to it and end up sending the wrong message that the behavior is okay. 🙂
I pretty much repeated what you said above,”You are not there,” when it’s happened at my table. One of my groups has been “trained” that whenever a skill check is called for, everyone reaches for their d20. I think they’ve calmed down by now.
I know with my group, everyone’s hand hovers over their dice when a skill check is called for, but they usually wait until I indicate who needs to roll.
I’ve rarely had this issue, but for a player in a recent game. They had the annoy g habit of “being there”. So they could make snarky cmments and observations in character. They also had a habit of not understanding the “beat” of a scene; they had a tendency to want to drag a conversation out…pretty much forever. I tried to shut the, down as gently as I could. Eventually, they withdrew from the game.
That sounds like a definite disconnect in play style in addition to the problematic behavior. It’s probably better off for everyone involved that they left and found a different group.
I think this is one issue with players hogging the attention, and that should be directed. However, if someone wants to metaplay and let the character just show up, I normally let it pass. Just like players doesn’t need to play out how the characters brief each other, if the players already know the information.
But we don’t have secret player information in our games, and the people in the group can handle metaplay to make the session flow better.
Otherwise, a good article. I just wanted to chime in on this. I also like Brian Holland‘s comment about not realizing that he was doing it himself.
Oh yeah, my number one hot button as a player, and I never let it go these days. I clamp down hard as soon as it happens if it is in one of “my” scenes, or gently remind the offender if it is another’s turn in the spotlight.
Some don’t get it because they are alpha gamers and never stop to consider the others are not simply blades on their swiss army solo game. They often don’t have an “ear” for the rhythm of the game as it progresses.
Some don’t get it because they have a focus problem – I once had a coplayer who was “on the spectrum” and had many behavioral issues that were difficult for the others at table (including my second most hated behavior – second-guessing and vocally criticizing every decision made by others even when “not there”), but his frequent flyer teleportation earned him a clampdown after the third instance.
It rarely happens in my own games, the ones I run, because I have lucked out with players who can immerse and know they each have a place in the Sun.
My own difficulty is that I find it hard to watch someone deliberately and repeatedly trying to finesse the clear rules in order to get an advantage over the rest of the party: “I’m Dragonborn so I should instill fear and respect just by being there”. “I know the rules say I only get 15 build points but I’m a Texas Ranger so I should be able to have such-and-such”. “The rules say that I get such-and-such a bonus under XYZ conditions but I think I should get it now because XYZ will be difficult to make happen here on Mars”. These sorts of Monty Haul shenanigans drive me quietly nuts, and there are good friends I cannot game with because of their always-on munchkinism.
I think it’s because I started as a classical wargamer (before RPGs were invented) and like the challenge of succeeding within the restrictions set out by the rules.